In trend terms, short-term visitor arrivals to Australia in November 2006 (466,600 movements) were 0.9% higher than in October 2006. Short-term visitor arrivals are currently 3.1% higher than when the series last troughed in June 2006 (452,400 movements) and 2.3% higher than in November 2005 (456,200 movements).

The following table presents the top ten source countries (based on original estimates) for short-term visitor arrivals during November 2006. Seasonally adjusted and trend estimates are also presented for these countries, along with the percentage change in trend compared with October 2006 and November 2005.

Short-term Visitor Arrivals, Major Source Countries - November 2006

Trend

Seasonally
Adjusted

Original

Oct 06 to
Nov 06

Nov 05 to
Nov 06

'000

'000

'000

Trend %
change

Trend %
change

New Zealand

88.9

90.6

88.4

0.6

-1.8

United Kingdom

58.7

59.8

74.6

1.4

1.6

Japan

55.3

55.0

59.0

0.5

-6.3

United States of America

37.8

37.8

37.1

0.6

4.3

China

28.6

29.1

29.8

2.4

17.2

Singapore

22.4

21.2

27.1

0.2

3.8

Korea

23.5

21.4

24.6

0.7

19.2

Germany

12.1

12.3

13.9

0.7

-1.5

Malaysia

13.0

13.5

13.7

2.3

-4.1

Canada

9.1

9.0

10.6

-0.4

6.0

SHORT-TERM RESIDENT DEPARTURES

In trend terms, short-term resident departures from Australia in November 2006 (415,600 movements) were similar to the number of movements recorded in October 2006 (415,100 movements). Short-term resident departures are currently 5.7% higher than in November 2005.

The following table presents the top ten destinations (based on original estimates) for short-term resident departures during November 2006. Seasonally adjusted and trend estimates are also presented for these countries, along with the percentage change in trend compared with October 2006 and November 2005.

Short-term Resident Departures, Major Destinations - November 2006

Trend

Seasonally
Adjusted

Original

Oct 06 to
Nov 06

Nov 05 to
Nov 06

'000

'000

'000

Trend %
change

Trend %
change

New Zealand

76.0

75.9

67.2

1.0

8.8

United States of America

36.6

35.1

32.6

-0.4

-0.3

Thailand

23.5

23.1

24.0

-0.5

16.3

China

22.1

22.7

20.7

0.6

12.9

United Kingdom

33.2

32.1

20.0

-2.1

0.1

Hong Kong

17.7

17.4

19.6

1.4

16.2

India

8.9

9.3

17.2

-0.9

7.6

Indonesia

16.0

18.7

16.9

3.4

-6.7

Singapore

16.5

16.2

16.7

-0.4

-0.5

Fiji

17.5

16.7

14.6

0.2

4.9

SHORT-TERM TRAVEL - HONG KONG

Short-term visitor arrivals

Trend estimates for November 2006 show the number of short-term visitor arrivals from Hong Kong represented 3% (12,800 movements) of all short-term visitor arrivals to Australia. Over the ten year period to November 2006 the trend has fluctuated. The high point during this period was in July 2005 (13,900 movements) and the low point was in April 2003 (11,000). The November 2006 trend estimate for short-term visitor arrivals from Hong Kong was similar to October 2006 and 4% lower than in November 2005.

HONG KONG, Short-term Visitor Arrivals

In original terms, short-term visitor arrivals from Hong Kong in November 2006 stated holiday (45%) as their main reason for journey followed by visiting friends and relatives (24%) and business (19%). In comparison, the main reasons for journey for all short-term visitors to Australia were holiday (54%), visiting friends and relatives (20%) and business (12%). The median age of short-term visitor arrivals from Hong Kong was 41 years (also 41 years for all visitors) and the median intended duration of stay was 9 days (10 days for all visitors).

New South Wales (51%), Victoria (20%) and Queensland (16%) were the main states/territories of intended stay for short-term visitors from Hong Kong in November 2006. The main destinations for all short-term visitors to Australia were New South Wales (40%), Queensland (27%) and Victoria (18%).

Short-term resident departures

Trend estimates for November 2006 show that the number of short-term resident departures to Hong Kong represented 4% (17,700 movements) of all short-term resident departures. Over the ten year period to November 2006 the series has varied. It fell from a high in early 1997 to fluctuate until mid-2004. The series then maintained strong growth until mid 2005. The high point in the ten years to November 2006 was the current month while the low point was in October 2002 (11,300 movements). The November 2006 trend estimate was similar to October 2006 and 16% higher than in November 2005.

The seasonally adjusted series fell abruptly in April 2003 (2,000 movements). This fall coincided with the anticipation and commencement of military action in Iraq and the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

HONG KONG, Short-term Resident Departures

In original terms, short-term resident departures to Hong Kong in November 2006 stated holiday (40%) as their main reason for journey followed by visiting friends and relatives (28%) and business (19%). In comparison, the main reasons for journey for all residents departing Australia short-term were holiday (42%), visiting friends and relatives (27%) and business (18%). The median age of residents departing short-term to Hong Kong was 45 years (41 years for all short-term resident departures) and the median intended duration of stay was 11 days (14 days for all short-term resident departures).

PERMANENT AND LONG-TERM MOVEMENTS

There were 11,460 permanent (settler) arrivals to Australia during November 2006, an increase of 6.2% compared with November 2005 (10,800 movements). People born in the United Kingdom accounted for the largest proportion of settlers (19%), followed by people born in New Zealand (13%), India (9%) and China (7%).

There were 5,120 Australian residents departing permanently from Australia during November 2006, an increase of 7.8% compared with November 2005 (4,750 movements).

Statistics on overseas arrivals and departures relate to the number of movements of travellers rather than the number of travellers. Care should be taken when using long-term movements data as it is known that some individuals who travel multiple times in a year are counted each time they cross Australia's borders (see paragraph 5 of the Explanatory Notes). Long-term movements in this publication are not an appropriate source of migration statistics. For further information refer to Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0).

STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The above presentation of movements in estimates does not take into account whether the change in movement is statistically significant. Care should be taken when interpreting the impact of numeric and/or percentage change. Please see the Standard Errors section of this issue for more detail.

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